Talking Tech at Social Media Week NYC

SocialTimes was busy mingling at Social Media Week in New York last week, and caught up with some people who were behind the conference. We chatted with Toby Daniels, CEO and co-founder of the event, and Jordan Roth, CEO of Culturalist, which provided Wi-Fi for the event.

The theme of the conference was “The Future of Now,” which reflected the shift to an always-connected society. Earlier in the conference, BuzzFeed’s Jonah Peretti talked about how society creates antibodies to counter the negative effects of technology.

“It’s really about trying to create boundaries,” said Daniels. “In particular, boundaries when I use my smartphone. It’s also about using technology to create more space and time.” He uses Headspace, an app that provides guided meditation. There is now a burgeoning industry of helping people manage the ubiquity of technology in their lives. From apps, retreats to plain-old digital diets, we are becoming just as obsessed with unplugging as we are with plugging in.
Roth, who founded the list-making social network Culturalist, came to the social networking space by way of Broadway. He’s also president of Jujamcyn Theaters, which owns and operates five Broadway theaters. While he couldn’t tell us when the site would be coming out of beta, he did share with us his favorite list: “Worst things that I don’t like that everyone else seems to love.” Number one? Selfies. Probably a good thing, considering the consequences.